The present systems and methods relate to on-line booking of cruises and in particular concern applications designed to facilitate cruise price comparisons, reservations, booking, and customer management by travel agents.
The growth of the cruise industry has created an increase in the number of passenger cruise lines that sail each year. Each cruise line offers a variety of cruise packages, and the cruise packages vary depending on destination, sailing date, cruise ship, cabin category, excursions, special discounts, and so forth. While such variety offers great selection to potential customers, finding the cruise package that best fits the customer""s budget and preferences is often a difficult task. As a result, travel agents spend large amounts of time and energy researching and booking cruises for customers.
Conventional approaches in the cruise industry fail to recognize the travel agent""s efforts in the cruise booking process. Travel agents are actively involved in the cruise booking process beginning with the initial customer contact (e.g., by telephone conversations, personal appointments, e-mail solicitations, etc.), extending to determining what the customer wants and scouring the cruise line industry to find acceptable cruise packages. By the time the agent has booked a cruise package for the customer, the agent has spent a significant amount of time with the customer. Such service is laborious and typically compensated by sales commission. While there are a number of customer information systems which have been used by travel agents to provide and manage customer contact information, these systems fail to track the travel agents"" close involvement with their customers throughout the cruise selling and booking process. By relying on such systems, travel agencies and the agents working therein encounter customer management difficulties and inaccurate tracking of sales commission figures.
An additional problem with conventional approaches is that they fail to ensure that customers will be directed to agents with whom they have previously established a relationship. It is important that the customer receives the personal attention and recognition often available only from the travel agent with whom the customer has had previous contact, as the customer/agent relationship significantly impacts repeat business rate in the cruise industry.
An further problem with conventional approaches is that travel agents spend large amounts of time determining the preferences of each individual customer, finding cruise packages that meets the customer""s needs, and booking the cruise package. A travel agent spends, on average, well over one hour with each customer manually sifting through piles of paper documentation and is constantly on the phone with cruise lines to get current information, such as availability and pricing.
Thus, conventional approaches fail to provide customer/agent tracking and management thereby reducing the number of potential customer cruise bookings. Furthermore, conventional approaches do not adequately protect the agent""s customer pool leading to reduced commissions through inappropriate customer switching among agents.
One embodiment of the present invention is a system for tracking agent interaction with customers implemented in a web server environment wherein a plurality of remote users utilizing web browser programs electronically communicate with the system via a data communications network. The system comprises an electronic customer database configured to store information about a plurality of customers and an electronic agent database configured to store information about a plurality of agents. The system also comprises an electronic rules database configured to store rules that define temporal relationships between the plurality of customers and the plurality of agents and an agent ownership program module in communication with the customer database, the agent database, and the rules database, wherein the agent ownership program module is configured to control agent access to information about the plurality of customers in the customer database based at least upon the temporal relationships between the plurality of customers and the plurality of agents.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a method for managing agent ownership of customers utilizing a cruise web server environment to electronically communicate via a data communications network with a plurality of remote users using web browser programs. The method comprises receiving and agent identifier that represents an agent from a remote user""s web browser program, receiving a customer identifier that represents a customer from the remote user""s web browser program, and verifying that the customer is available for interaction with the agent by querying an electronic database of agent and customer information. The method also comprises receiving an agent activity from the remote user""s web browser program and determining a time window for agent activity based at least upon at least one agent ownership rule, wherein the at least one agent ownership rule is stored in the electronic database. The method further comprises creating an agent of record association between the agent and the customer wherein the agent is designated as the customer""s agent of record for the allotted amount of time and storing the agent of record association in the electronic database.
An additional embodiment of the present invention is a method of verifying agent ownership of a customer utilizing a cruise web server environment to electronically communicate via a data communications network with a plurality of remote users using web browser programs. The method comprises receiving an agent identifier representing an agent from a remote user""s web browser program, receiving a customer identifier representing a customer from the remote user""s web browser program, and retrieving a customer record from an electronic customer database, wherein the customer record corresponds to the customer and the customer record includes an agent of record. The method also comprises determining whether the agent of record corresponds to the agent represented by the agent identifier and returning a message to the remote user""s web browser program signifying whether the agent of record corresponds to the agent represented by the agent identifier.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a method for changing an agent of record association between an agent and a customer utilizing a cruise web server environment to electronically communicate via a data communications network with a plurality of remote users using web browser programs. The method comprises receiving an agent identifier representing an agent from a remote user""s web browser, receiving a customer identifier representing a customer from the remote user""s web browser, and receiving an activity that represents a communication between the agent and the customer from the remote user""s web browser. The method also comprises retrieving a customer record from an electronic database, wherein the customer record corresponds to the customer and the customer record includes an agent of record association, setting the agent of record association to correspond to the agent represented by the agent identifier, and storing the agent of record association in the electronic database.
An additional embodiment of the present invention is a method for tracking and maintaining relationships among clients and agents, wherein the method uses a web browser program to electronically communicate with a remote cruise web server system via a data communications network. The method comprises submitting an agent identifier that corresponds to an agent to the remote cruise web server system, submitting a customer identifier that corresponds to a customer to the remote cruise web server system, and receiving agent ownership information from the remote cruise web server system, wherein the agent ownership information corresponds to the customer and the customer""s assigned agent signifying whether the agent may proceed with working with the customer.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a method for using an agent ownership system to update an existing relationship between clients and agents, wherein the method uses a web browser program to electronically communicate with a remote cruise web server system via a data communications network. The method comprises submitting an agent identifier that corresponds to an agent to the remote cruise web server system and submitting a client identifier to the remote cruise web server system that corresponds to a client with whom the agent has an existing relationship. The method also comprises submitting an agent activity to the remote cruise web server system and receiving a time period for which the relationship is valid from the remote cruise web server system.
An additional embodiment of the present invention is a method of identifying an agent of record utilizing a cruise web server environment to electronically communicate via a data communications network with a plurality of remote users using web browser programs. The method comprises receiving a customer identifier representing a customer from a remote user""s web browser, retrieving a customer record from an electronic customer database, wherein the customer record corresponds to the customer identifier, and determining whether an agent of record has been assigned to the customer record. The method also comprises returning an agent of record designator to the remote user""s web browser if the agent of record has been assigned and returning an available agent designator to the remote user""s web browser if the agent of record has not been assigned.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a method for overriding an agent of record association between a first agent and a customer utilizing a cruise web server environment to electronically communicate via a data communications network with a plurality of remote users using web browser programs. The method comprises receiving an agent identifier representing a second agent from a remote user""s web browser program, receiving a customer identifier representing a customer from the remote user""s web browser program, and retrieving agent of record data corresponding to the customer identifier from an electronic database. The method also comprises setting the agent of record data to the agent identifier, receiving an expiration date from the remote user""s web browser program, and retrieving agent of record data from the electronic database, wherein the agent of record data corresponds to the customer identifier. The method further comprises setting the agent of record data to correspond to the agent identifier and the expiration date and storing the agent of record data in the electronic database.
An further embodiment of the present invention is a method of creating an agent of record association between an agent and a customer utilizing a cruise web server environment to electronically communicate via a data communications network with a plurality of remote users using web browser programs. The method comprises receiving an agent identifier representing an agent from a remote user""s web browser program, receiving customer information about a customer from the remote user""s web browser program, and creating a customer record. The method also comprises creating an agent of record association between the customer and the agent and storing the customer record in an electronic database.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a system for tracking agent interaction with customers implemented in conjunction with a web browser program, wherein the web browser program electronically communicates with a remote cruise web server system via a data communications network. The system comprises an agent identifier program module configured to submit to the remote cruise web server system an agent identifier that corresponds to an agent and a client identifier program module configured submit to the remote cruise web server system a client identifier that corresponds to a client with whom the agent has an existing relationship. The system also comprises an agent activity program module configured to submit to the remote cruise web server system an agent activity wherein the agent activity corresponds to the agent identifier and the client identifier and a time program module configured to receive a time period for which the relationship is valid from the remote cruise web server system.
An additional embodiment of the present invention is a method for managing agent ownership of customers utilizing a cruise web server environment to electronically communicate via a data communications network with a plurality of remote users using web browser programs. The method comprises means for receiving and agent identifier that represents an agent from a remote user""s web browser program, means for receiving a customer identifier that represents a customer from the remote user""s web browser program, and means for verifying that the customer is available for interaction with the agent by querying an electronic database of agent and customer information. The method also comprises means for receiving an agent activity from the remote user""s web browser program and means for determining a time window for agent activity based at least upon at least one agent ownership rule, wherein the at least one agent ownership rule is stored in the electronic database. The method further comprises means for creating an agent of record association between the agent and the customer wherein the agent is designated as the customer""s agent of record for the allotted amount of time and means for storing the agent of record association in the electronic database.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a method for tracking and maintaining relationships among clients and agents, wherein the method uses a web browser program to electronically communicate with a remote cruise web server system via a data communications network. The method comprises means for submitting an agent identifier that corresponds to an agent to the remote cruise web server system, means for submitting a customer identifier that corresponds to a customer to the remote cruise web server system, and means for receiving agent ownership information from the remote cruise web server system, wherein the agent ownership information corresponds to the customer and the customer""s assigned agent signifying whether the agent may proceed with working with the customer.
For purposes of summarizing the invention, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features of the invention are described herein. It is to be understood that not necessarily all such advantages may be achieved in accordance with any particular embodiment of the invention. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves one advantage or a group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught or suggested herein.